Which musicians from our era will be remembered 500 years from now?

[SeattleVertigo]

I was having a debate with some friends about this. My argument is that The Beatles were the Mozart/Beethoven of the late 20th century (an idea my mom planted in my head years ago), and that they will be the name that people remember from our era 500 years from now.

Somebody said no way, this pop music era will be forgotten in 100 years, Rogers and Hammerstein (Broadway songwriting duo) will be what will be remembered.

I'm curious on your thoughts about this topic.

What kinds of music from the 20th century (include this decade if you like) will have names as big as Mozart or Beethoven have today, 500 years from now? Will any of our musicians be big enough to reach that level? Who will be big and/or good enough to be written about in the history books, or taught in music history classes?

Some other names tossed about include Frank Sinatra, Pink Floyd, Louis Armstrong, Michael Jackson, Elvis, U2.

 

[Dalton]

Thom Yorke thinks the world will be dead in 500 years and NSW thinks his cousin will return by that time, so I dub this discussion irrelevant.

 

[LemonMelon]

The Strokes

 

[Imperor]

It's nearly impossible to come up with an answer for 500 years. 50 would make for an interesting discussion, though. I've actually had this conversation with a few people, even though it was under the guise of "who will we be trying to get our children into 20-30 years from now" instead. I think you'll find many young people who are crazy about the Beatles got that characteristic from one or both parents, so wondering who I might try to pass along is an interesting idea.

As far as being a cultural touchstone into the future, well after they've disbanded and members are old and/or dead, Radiohead is a pretty obvious choice.

 

[VintagePunk]

We don't even know if Mozart/Beethoven will be remembered in another 250 years. But interesting topic, nonetheless.

eta -

It's nearly impossible to come up with an answer for 500 years. 50 would make for an interesting discussion, though.

Exactly, that's what I was getting at. 500 years is mind-boggling. 50 - 100 years is a little more realistic to speculate on.

 

[Salome]

Brian Wilson
no one else

though in a perfect world Frank Zappa and Aphex Twin would join him

 

[If you shout...]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Anal Cunt.

 

[lazarus]

I agree with Thom Yorke.

At best, people will be knocking stones and pieces of wood together for music.

 

[Screwtape2]

None. No musicians from this century or the last with be remembered by most people other then social scientists and those with a deep interest in this period of human history. It's important to consider that significant human populations will be living on extraterrestrial bodies like the moon, Mars and so on. Such populations will likely embrace their own cultural identity where Earth's past isn't a major influence on every day life.

 

[LMP]

You're wrong, Screw:

YouTube - Beatles 3000

 

[Screwtape2]

You're wrong, Screw:

YouTube - Beatles 3000

That was pretty funny.

 

[The Sad Punk]

After the bear apocalypse, we won't remember anything.

Except for maybe Anal Cunt.

 

[Axver]

I'm going to third Anal Cunt.

And maybe a Brokencyde song or two will survive. Probably mistakenly credited to "The Radio Heads" though.

 

[Jive Turkey]

is that what happens when a lady's choda wears through?

 

[If you shout...]

It's this.

YouTube - Anal Cunt - I Lit Your Baby On Fire Lyrical Slideshow

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Probably Taylor.

 

[If you shout...]

And also this.

YouTube - Anal Cunt - You're Pregnant, So I Kicked You In The Stomach

 

[If you shout...]

Not to mention the timeless classic...

YouTube - Anal Cunt - I Went Back In Time And Voted For Hitler

There are many, many, many more from whence these came. Many more.

 

[Imperor]

Iconic band logo there.

 

[cobl04]

YouTube - Sandi Thom - I Wich I Was A Punkrocker

how else will they know about the punk movement?

 

[Kieran McConville]

My answer: virtually none, and that is no comment on the enjoyability of much of our era. But that isn't how posterity works.

Or to come at it another way, which musicians from 500 years ago are remembered today?

Not really something you want to ponder too hard. Most art lives or dies first in its own time. Posterity is a freebie, but not worth shooting for, cause you'll never get there deliberately.

 

[Kieran McConville]

oh I'm sorry, I see I was taking the topic seriously.

 

[Galeongirl]

IF there'll be any musicians remembered, I'd say it would be the Beatles. There's hardly a soul that has never heard of even their name, let alone at least one of their songs.


Though, 500 years is quite quite far away.

 

[VintagePunk]

My answer: virtually none, and that is no comment on the enjoyability of much of our era. But that isn't how posterity works.

Or to come at it another way, which musicians from 500 years ago are remembered today?

Not really something you want to ponder too hard. Most art lives or dies first in its own time. Posterity is a freebie, but not worth shooting for, cause you'll never get there deliberately.

The thing is though, there was no recorded music to live on, for future generations. According to wikipedia:

The earliest existence of printed music dates from about 1465, and then only liturgical chants were printed.

Far be it from me to minimize the appeal of liturgical chants, but it's sort of understandable that we have little access to music from 500 years ago.

Anyway, there's a far greater chance that music from our current era will live on in the future than there was for 15th century music to be available to us now.

oh I'm sorry, I see I was taking the topic seriously.

Ha, I know the feeling. Imagine the chagrin caused by my earnest reply earlier in the thread, before I realized this was a joke thread. :ashamed:

 

[Dalton]

Back the fuck off my liturgical chants.

 

[lazarus]

Isn't it less likely for classical composers like Mozart or Beethoven to outlast our current favorites, simply because we have no photographs, no video, no recordings of them actually PLAYING anything? I think the 20th century stuff actually has a better chance because we can preserve them completely.

 

[allbecauseofu2]

some artists popularity don't last 500 days.

 

[IWasBored]

my only hope is that the human race has been erradicated 500 years from now.

 

[Dalton]

my only hope is that the human race has been erradicated 500 years from now.

We're working on it ...